In my opinion, itâs very likely that some ancient Marvels were originally buried within these three fossils, and Soul Crystals did indeed form over the great passage of time. However, after being buried underground for countless years, the ancient Marvels that were once hidden within them have decayed into ordinary stone under the influence of the Power of Time, losing all trace of their existence. And yet, the Soul Crystals that formed are still preserved within the fossils.
Soul Crystals are intangible and substanceless, without sound or taste. With my current detection methods, I canât perform any quantitative analysis. Iâve never heard Sandro or Su Xinyan mention a resource like Soul Crystals, which must mean humanity knows very little about this substance. Therefore, I can only make an educated guess based on my own experience. Perhaps in the future, as my strength improves, Iâll be able to analyze the origin of Soul Crystals with more diverse and powerful detection methods.
Currently, Fang Zhou was in a state of knowing the âwhatâ but not the âwhyâ. However, just knowing the âwhatâ was enough for him to grow stronger.
While Fang Zhou was excited about discovering another reliable way to accumulate Soul Power, the other students watching him cut the stones began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Donât bother watching. Thereâs no point in betting on stones he picked just for their color," one student said impatiently.
"If he actually gets an ancient Marvel out of that, Iâll eat all the stone dust on the ground," another student teased with a smirk, drawing a few chuckles from the surrounding crowd.
"Junior Fang Zhou, donât lose heart. There are still five left, and youâve only cut into a few of them," the female student receptionist encouraged him, her voice soft and pleasant.
Fang Zhou remained calm. He picked up the fourth fossil, and just as he ground it down to the size of his palm, his movements suddenly paused.
The surrounding students immediately fell silent, their eyes fixed on the stone in Fang Zhouâs hand.
"Huh? Thereâs something in it!"
"The material is changing! Itâs not the black stone from before; itâs turning an inky black."
"Did he actually pull it off? Like a blind cat catching a dead mouse?"
A wave of quiet gasps rippled through the onlookers.
"Junior, please be careful as you cut the stone from here on out," the female student urged, startled that something was actually happening. "Donât use too much force! The ancient Marvels hidden inside are extremely fragile. If youâre too rough, you could destroy it."
Fang Zhouâs movements slowed significantly. As his fingers worked, dust now pattered down intermittently, no longer falling in a continuous stream. Black dust drifted down. As the stone shrank, Fang Zhouâs motions became even slower and gentler. The pile of dust on the carpet grew higher until finally, the inky black stone core in Fang Zhouâs hand was completely ground away.
"Sigh... what a pity. It was just a stone within a stone."
"What a waste of my excitement. I really thought there was an ancient Marvel in there."
"You guys are so gullible. Do you think stone gambling is that easy? Eight or nine out of ten are empty. If they werenât, why wouldnât the students who find these Marvel-bearing fossils just cut them open themselves? Wouldnât they want to make the money?"
"Junior, your luck is actually quite good. Finding a stone within a stone on your first try isnât something an ordinary person could do," the female student said, trying another way to console Fang Zhou while also mentally preparing him for the likely outcome. Finding nothing while stone gambling was a nine-out-of-ten occurrence; it was all too common. In her eyes, Fang Zhou was just acting on a whim, so the probability of him picking a treasure-bearing fossil was minuscule.
Fang Zhou simply smiled without responding and took out the fifth stone.
That fourth stone had just given him a full 200 points of Soul Power, filling him with even more confidence for his next choice. He ground it carefully. This time, it only took the space of ten breaths to wear away the black stone skin on the surface, revealing a lumpy, yellow ball of mud.
The appearance of this mud ball immediately drew the attention of the watching students.
"Huh?"
"Itâs not another stone within a stone, is it?" another student guessed, their tone uncertain.
"Looks like it," a student said, baffled. "But itâs strange. This yellow soil was encased in hard, black stone; it should have been compressed until it was smooth. Why is its surface so uneven?" The other students nodded in agreement.
Seeing the yellow mud ball in his hand, Fang Zhouâs expression remained unchanged, but his heart stirred. He continued to grind it. A gray light shone like a blade as the soil turned to powder and fell away. Mixed in with the fine powder were numerous clumps of dirt that tumbled onto the growing pile of dust at his feet.
"Is there really something in there?!" Some of the studentsâ eyes widened in astonishment as they watched.
"Itâs hard to say," some said, their voices now tinged with uncertainty.
"I think there is... I really think so," someone whispered.
Fang Zhou remained unaffected, focusing only on the ball of mud in his hand. His movements were slow and meticulous. A moment later, fine strands of dry powder began to trickle down. As he worked, an ancient Marvel, buried for ages, was gradually revealed before everyoneâs eyes.
"My gods, thereâs really an ancient Marvel!"
"He actually opened one!"
"Are you kidding me? You can win at stone gambling like this?"
"Fang Zhouâs luck is insane! He really managed to pull out an ancient Marvel through sheer, brute-force luck!"
Instantly, a chorus of astonished shouts erupted from the students, and the atmosphere inside the tent became electric.